Tag Archives: naked

If you haven’t figured out by now, I lack an ability to be succinct. I am not one to say in a few words what I can exhaustively analyze, deconstruct, and put back together in hundreds of words. See, even then I couldn’t just leave it as an inability to be succinct.

I thought this would be a quick post. Simply to state that I let my nipple piercings close and have been growing my pubic hair.

Done. End of post!

Not.

JEN IS EMBARRASSED?
I am not one to normally feel self-conscious about things, whether it is what people think about TTWD, or about my appearance, or really about anything. However – I found myself becoming more self-conscious about my nipple piercings and pubic hair.

It’s ironic that our nudism was part of the trigger for this uneasiness. After all, I’ve found that nudism makes you less self-conscious and more accepting of your body. Yeah, I get it. I can try to rationalize away my uneasiness, but sometimes, you just can’t. You feel what you feel and you just have to deal! Emotions don’t care about logic.

Pre-nudism, my piercings and pubic hair were private and limited to the purview of those involved in TTWD. But now that we are full-fledged nudists, well, it ain’t so private anymore! And had a growing self-perception was that I was putting out a message that didn’t represent me or my thoughts. Something had to change. Those thoughts weren’t changing, so, the piercings had to go, and the hair had to return.

HAIR DOWN THAIRFor the longest time, Mike had me and Kayla with the same “look” down there, whether it be hair or no hair. But then Mike went through a phase where he had one of us sporting one look while the other sports another. “Visual variety” as he calls it! Um, okay, as if our different physiques weren’t visual enough. Mine is not to question why. Mine is but to do or get spanked! lol

My self-consciousness over this started when I was bare and Kayla was bushy. It started to feel to me like I was putting out the perception that I was trying too hard to do what the young folks do.

And it wasn’t just my mind comparing myself to Kayla. When we are at T & E’s farm, I am often the only one bare down there. At times the 17-year old has been bare, but it messes with my mind either way. When she is bare, I feel like I am trying to “style” myself after the teenager. When she doesn’t, it compounds my self-consciousness that I am the odd one.

NIFTY 50
Part of what was going through my mind is that I am going to be 50 later this year. I also think my tattoo added another wrinkle to a weakened psyche. Not to say a 50-year old can’t rock a new tat along with her nipple piercings and bare pussy. . . but THIS 50-year old? Why do I want piercings drawing more attention to my vein-marbled-droopy-boobies along with looking like I am trying really hard to “compete” with Kayla?

Adding to what was influencing my emotions — I am only around naked women who are younger than me, and sometimes much younger. Kayla is the 24-year old with the awesome figure, yet no nipple piercings. (She did pierce her nipples and clit shortly after moving in with us, but let them close-up only after a few months).

Again, I get it. I know there is nothing wrong with anyone of any age piercing whatever they want to pierce, or having their pubic hair in whatever shape or length that they want, or getting a new tattoo at any age. It was just for me, all this added up to something my psyche wasn’t comfortable with it.

THE GUYS?
For whatever reason, the pube situation in the men and boys has no influence over my uneasiness. If you are keeping score, you can mark down Mike as one who goes back and forth with his look. Frankly, he would probably leave it grown out but Kayla enjoys shaving him and he never refuses when she asks. And as for other menfolk, it’s a mixed bag of various looks from bare to full to all things in-between.

MIKE’S SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS
In discussing this with Mike, he shared that he also was starting to feel a bit self-conscious about the pube thing, but with Kayla. He said the first time we were around others and Kayla was bare and I wasn’t, he started to think others might be inclined to think he wants Kayla to look like a little girl. Like, it isn’t enough that she is so much younger than him, and is very youthful in her physique, but she makes herself look more like a little girl. Wow, that never crossed my mind, but once he said it, I too had a hard time getting it out of my mind.

REFLECTION
We both know that the chances are good these thoughts are only in our mind and not what others are thinking. And even if they aren’t thinking such things, so what? Right? Well, again, you can’t rationalize away some thoughts.

It would be different for us if the “others” we are talking about were strangers at a nudist beach or kink-friends involved in TTWD. But we are a family of nudists in a growing family of nudists. I think that’s why, in this particular situation, I am more sensitive to thinking about what others might be thinking.

I don’t mind people thinking odd or ill thoughts of me regarding our relationship with Kayla or any aspect of TTWD that they may be privy too. If they don’t like it, well, too bad. But, it bothers me to think that others may believe that I feel I am in competition with Kayla, and it bothers Mike to think others may believe he is into little girls. To be clear, no one has ever indicated or implied any such things. These are just things in our minds, but they are powerful enough that we have addressed them.

And don’t think I am some fragile self-conscious timid and insecure person. I am not. But when it comes to my nipple piercings and my bare pubic area — well, guilty!

I remain committed to sporting whatever type of pubic hair, or lack thereof, that Mike wishes, and will pierce whatever part of my body he wants me to pierce. But for now, he has allowed me to remove the piercings. And he had Kayla shave so that both she and I were bare together, and then we both have been growing it in for about a month now.

I sense at some point I will look back at this and not relate to feeling self-conscious and find my feelings silly. But frankly, it is not up to me anyway. I will share with Mike whatever it is I am felling at whatever time he may ask about it, and will abide by his demands. I just hope he doesn’t ask for a bejeweled butterfly a la the image I used on this post! Then again, maybe I can usher in a new trend for the newly 50-somethings!

I’ve got some “DD” things to share, but had this post half written so thought I’d finish it up before going on to kinkier things! By the way, our party (283. We are three), is tonight. All the preparations are done and it looks like the weather is going to cooperate.

I was having another one of those in-depth conversation with one of my sisters regarding my choices in life. Yes, it had many of the same questions and issues she raised previously (Post 200. Balloons and Submission for one). But this time, most of her concerns centered around nudity. Her concerns were prompted by the fact that T&E’s home (my son and soon-to-be daughter-in-law) has jokingly become the “family commune.”

That is, it’s a place people in the family go to get away and relax. I shared previously that the they bought a house on about 50 acres, and plan to have a small farm — beehives, some pigs, and chickens. Both of them work full time jobs, so the farm is more a hobby and will be fairly small in scale. Oh, and by the way, their wedding is in two weeks.

Anyway — as shared in 252. Naked Carvan, many of my nieces and nephews made the trek to T&E’s house in part to chip in and help out with renovations and clearing some of the land, and in part to just have fun and hang out. Most of them are young adults ranging from early 20’s to early 30’s. One niece, my sister’s daughter, is 17. And yes, when in Rome, you do as the Romans do…or in this case, when at T&E’s, you do as the nudist’s do. They all got naked.

Since that initial visit, it’s a rare weekend that T&E don’t have some guests — one of T’s cousin’s spending a day or two. Sometimes they even bring a friend. And far from feeling intruded upon, T&E both love this as they like the idea of their house being a gathering place. And despite some reservations, there are times my sister has allowed her 17-year old to visit and spend a day or even night on the farm – and she has also brought a friend with her (female friend).

Well, unbeknownst to my sister, on one of her daughter’s day trips to the farm she went with her boyfriend. My niece eventually told her mom (my sis) after the fact, and it didn’t sit well with her. My sister knows her daughter is having sex, so it isn’t that fact that disturbs her. It is just the idea of “flaunting their bodies” in front of each other and the “obviously sexually charged atmosphere” of it all.

In her mind, the get-a-ways to the farm are nothing more than a sex filled day of debauchery. I tried to explain that nudism and sex are distinct, and in fact, nudism serves to de-sexualize nudity, not hyper-sexualize it.

I told my sister her reaction is based on preconceived notions about nudity that conjure up feelings of shame, embarrassment, guilt, and sex. Heck, even the bible tells us about the moment humans first “realized” they were naked, quickly followed by the moment they were first ashamed of being naked.

In her mind, showing off a naked body sends out sexual signals that threaten the security of relationships and mankind. And what better way to suppress nudity than to use shame, as shame is the ideal emotion to enforce any code of conduct. Shame sucks – and we tend to want to avoid feeling it at all costs.

Well, whether it is shame of nakedness or shame over our kinks or shame over anything else — we are not born with shame. Instead, we learn it. And the shame we learn is artificial — there should be no shame in it. It only exists because we agree it exists and we agree it exists as a way of controlling conduct. (And you can easily substitute the word “sin” for “shame,” but I won’t go there).

At one time I was right there with sis – I felt the shame in it as well. Hell, I know that is exactly why we made nudity part of my duties in my DD. It was a way to feel some degree of shame or humbleness. Well, since adopting nudism, I do not get any “kink” or “submissive” satisfaction from being naked. That “shame” feeling has been purged.

And nothing changed, except my perception – which is what makes “shame” such a false feeling when it comes to nudity. There is nothing shameful about it. Only your perception makes it so. And to justify that feeling, we then attach all sorts of terrible things to nakedness — it must be sexual, it must be prurient, it must weaken the fibers of society, it must be a contributor to all that is bad, etc, etc. Well that’s just crap, and I told her so.

Not to be so naive, I did concede that sure, her daughter might have had sex when she went to T&E’s with her boyfriend, no more than they might do so anytime they have the chance. I mean, they are teenagers! But if they did, it wasn’t because of the nudity.

Ultimately, I urged my sister to spend a day at T&E’s, nude herself. And not just holed up in their house, but go about the property, visit with E’s cousin’s (who live next door – 233. Meet the Nudies, Even go there with her daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend!

I said that knowing that while she might give it a try herself, there was no way she would do so with her daughter’s boyfriend along. But my sister surprised me. “Okay, if V (her husband) is up for it, we’ll make a go at it, including inviting her boyfriend.” My jaw dropped. I thought she was kidding. But not only wasn’t she kidding, but she actually followed through.

To make a long story short — they spent a weekend at T&E’s – two days/one night.

SIS GETS NAKED
My sister came back with mixed reviews, but with some changes in her attitude about nudism. She agreed she was starting to feel more comfortable and less self-conscious towards the end, but still wasn’t fully comfortable. However, she really focused on everyone else and could see just how “normal” everyone else treated the nudity around them. She could see that there weren’t “sexual sparks flying around.” She even admitted there was an element of fun for her and her husband.

And she admitted her self-consciousness started to morph towards self-affirmation regarding her body image. She is a little overweight, and is 57, so was admittedly uneasy. And while she never got 100% comfortable, the comfort she saw in others made her want to try this again and get to their level of comfort.

I am so proud of her for being willing to “risk it” and give this go. She also had wonderful things to say about T&E and had many of the same wonderful observations that I already shared about E’s cousin’s (The Nudies).

A few days after my sisters return from T&E’s, she said she looks forward to visiting them again some time soon, and, told me that perhaps they would join us if we decided to do a nude vacation again.

Wow. I am so surprised, but elated. It reconfirmed my experience that nudism is addicting, and after a surprisingly very little adjustment period, feels so natural and so uplifting. You become a walking self-affirmation and have this tremendous sense of freedom, a sense of being one with the people and nature around you. I believe this is why Mike took toit, much to my surprise, and why my sister seems to taking to it, even more to my surprise!

A few posts back I mentioned Mike tasked me with talking to some of our neighbors to basically get their permission to allow us to be naked in our backyard. Asking their permission seems to be the neighborly thing to do.

BREAKING THE LAW!?Surprise! In my state, Texas, there are no state laws prohibiting women from being topless. However, if you are causing a disturbance you risk a charge of disorderly conduct or even public lewdness or indecent exposure.

In the context of our nudity, such charges are rare and often end up being thrown out (not that I want to go through the stress of being charged). Typically these charges are dismissed as codes specifically refer to “sexual acts.” Nakedness, by itself, is not defined as sexual. Interesting that the law gets it, but general society doesn’t!

However, the codes do refer to nakedness in regards to genitals. Some codes prohibit exposing “genitalia.” The good news there is breasts aren’t genitals. How nice that our laws recognize that breasts are not sexual organs! But, there is some risk of charges if you are naked “down there.” Where charges tend to get made and tend to stick is when there was clear sexual intent, gratification, arousal, etc., going on. That is not the context for our nudity.

There are some cities in Texas that have codes that explicitly allow women to be topless — anywhere in the city! In most cities it isn’t explicitly allowed, it just isn’t explicitly prohibited. Breastfeeding, nude sunbathing, or public urination have been held up in courts as NOT constituting indecent exposure. And most jurisdictions are not aggressive in trying to broadly interpret the codes as such interpretations typically fail in court. Basically, if no one complains, no action is taken.

The lack of aggression in trying to inforce the “nudity” statutes may also come from the fact not too many people try to push the boundaries. Despite nothing prohibiting it, I haven’t seen or heard of anyone walking topless in public (now Mike, don’t get any ideas!).

Ultimately, most of the prohibition is focused on whether or not the naked person was reckless in failing to consider whether or not someone who is present will be offended or alarmed – thus, asking the neighbors is not just neighborly, it is legally prudent.

Simply put, if no one complains, nothing happens. If someone complains, it is unlikely anything will happen. In the rare cases you are charged, it often gets thrown out. But, because some of these codes fall under “sex crimes,” it is very intimidating to want to try and test the waters as to what the codes permit. And because the legality is often left up to whether or not someone was “offended or alarmed,” well, you can see why it can be risky.

Despite this, my security-conscious private-person-of-a-husband, Mike, feels confident in our moving forward with this. He is as taken to nudism as I am and feels strongly that we should be comfortable mowing our yard naked, sitting on our patio naked, or walking to and from our shed naked. No one can really see us from our patio except maybe our heads – unless they go out of there way to peer over the fence. And where our bodies can be seen, we typically will be moving thus any glimpses will be fleeting — and mostly from the mid-belly upwards — again, unless someone goes out of there way to peer over the fence.

MINI-RANT
There’s this line I’ve heard that goes something like, “Our sexuality is taken from us, commercialized, then sold back to us at a price.” A comment that society demonizes our sexuality (especially women), then packages it and sells it to us at a price. In other words, it is only accepted if someone else can profit from it. Want to fill our kids with images of sexual suggestiveness, even combine it with violence? Sure thing, every single day, no problem! Allow anyone to see a naked body in a non sexual way? No way, never, what’s wrong with you?!? Oh, I can go on a major rant. But I won’t. Check out www.freethenipple.com.

On to see the neighbors. . .

NEIGHBOR #1They live next door. A couple about my age, soon-to-be-empty-nesters with just one child at home – she is 18, just graduated high school and will be attending school away from home in the fall. Four other kids ranging from age 20-25, and some of them drop in frequently.

They have several different vantage points into our yard, but each one only provides a limited view. They would have to stand in the middle of their yard in order to get the best view.

I talk to the wife quite a bit, typically a short hello as we pull in or out of our driveways, but occasionally more meaningful dialogue. I feel good about talking to her about this. She immigrated from Spain, she is an artist, and just has this vibe where I sensed she was going to be fine with this. She was.

She shared she had been to nudist beaches and resorts in Europe when she was younger. Her and her husband even took their two eldest kids back when they were little. It was never thought of as a “trip to the nudist beach,” it was simply, “going to the beach.” They stopped going simply because they moved and it wasn’t convenient to seek out a nude beach and the nudism wasn’t something they felt compelled to pursue. And she didn’t even think of their nudity in the home as being “nudism.” It was simply, “not being dressed yet.”

She shared that they last went to a nude beach about six years ago when their eldest daughter was looking at colleges. They stayed in San Diego and went to a beach that had a nude section. They were intrigued, so the whole lot of them went to the “nude section” and all got naked. At that time the kids ranged from about 11 to 18.

Yep – her family doesn’t have any issues with nudity. Oh – and it just so happens, San Diego is where T2 moved, so, humm…perhaps if we visit him we need to find that beach!

She assured me she was fine with us being naked in our own back yard, that her husband would concur, and her daughter would be fine. Her only concern was that she asked me to be open to any requests for us to be clothed in the event they were expecting guests who may be “offended or alarmed.” Of course!

That was easy!

NEIGHBOR #2.She lives directly behind us. I don’t know her very well. She is in her late 50’s, retired high school teacher. She is divorced, lives alone, and has two older daughters, each with a child under two. Both daughters visit frequently with their kids and spouses (one is married to a man, the other to a woman).

Her view into our yard is basically from about the shoulders up, except for one area where she could see from about the belly button on up.

She was surprised — “Like, naked naked. As in, no clothes at all naked?” Yep, that’s the kind of naked I was talking about. But she also appeared comfortable.

She then joked, “What’s in our water? Do you know my next-door-neighbors are nudists?”

Yep, her neighbor, who is diagonal to my backyard, are nudists. They have a little higher fence then everyone else… perhaps 8 foot instead of 6. They also have one side of their yard with this dark black mesh extending above the fence about another two feet. I assumed it was to block the sun, but apparently, it also serves to block the view. They also have a large shed and tree in the corner adjacent to my yard, so views to and from that yard into mine are zero – but I hear kids in their swimming pool all the time.

She says she knows the family very well and has no qualms about what they do. She said she can’t see a thing from her house so she wouldn’t even know when and if they are naked.

Wow!. I was ready to pinch myself. 2 for 2! How can I be so fortunate? This was too easy! HOWEVER. . . .

NOT THAT!
She asked me so, “So, we are talking about just you and your husband?”

I shared that J may be out at times and might be nude, and that we have friends and family members, young and old, who are nudists. It’s rare that we hang out in the backyard when they are over, but, it is always possible.

And then — I explained who Kayla was – after all, we aren’t hiding her relationship.

My revelation seem to shake her a bit, and she started back-peddling on her comfort level with our nudism. It was if my poly situation suddenly made my nudism something shameful. While news of my inferred-bisexuality may have been news to her, she has a gay daughter, so I assumed that wasn’t the issue. It was simply the thought of having this “open” marriage and “What about J?”

It prompted many questions – similar to those I posted about here. The difference is that instead of answering those questions from my sisters or other people who were a bit more connected to me, this neighbor is not much more than stranger. Even though they were the same questions, they felt a lot more “judgey.”

The discussion was very civil, but I did feel judged. But in the end, I felt good about it. She was very nice and while my news shook her a bit, seemed to shrug it off with, “whatever floats your boat.” I was proud I didn’t hesitate to share who Kayla was and what she meant to Mike and I. It isn’t something to be shameful of. And I felt good that ultimately, she accepted it, albeit after some discussion.

Not that I needed her acceptance, but, don’t we all feel better when others accept us, regardless who they are? I think I just needed to convince her my request that day wasn’t about asking to host orgies in my backyard. And odd she didn’t need that convincing until I brought up Kayla.

NUDISM AND KINKMy convo with Neighbor 2 hit on something I have been becoming increasingly sensitive to. Yes, you can describe my DD, D/s, and poly as kinky – I accept they are all unusual aspects of my life. And I accept that nudism is also unusual.

It is also unusual to have a special needs child. It it unusual to have a husband who can work a lot from home. It is unusual that I’ve been able to be a stay-at-home mom for around 20-years. It is unusual that T1 is not my biological son.

Just because there is something that is “not the norm” about a given aspect of my life, doesn’t mean that it should serve, by itself, as a value-statement or that it is automatically connected to some other aspect of my life.

My “kink” is no more related to my nudism than it is related to many other aspects of my life. E would have come into my son’s life without my kink, and we would have been introduced to her lifestyle. I believe we would have embraced it, even if we were still “vanilla.” I will concede that, because of DD, our relationship and mindset is more open to at least considering avant-garde ideas, but nudism? We would have tried it even if we were still vanilla – and I know we would have loved it just the same.

NOT A GOOD NUDIST ADVOCATE
The issue I have tried to be sensitive to, and that my neighbor reinforced, is that I think I do the idea of nudism a disservice when I write about it. My blog is not just “a day in the life” of Jennifer. It is a blog about Domestic Discipline and my relationship with Kayla, and all the other various unusual things (aka kinks) I experience.

It has crossed my mind that my writing about nudism could feed into the false notion that nudism is connected to something sexual, naughty, or forbidden. It is none of those things.

I feel bad knowing so many people connect nudity with lust, shame, and a host of nothing but negative or “sinful” feelings. There was a time I felt all those as well – and I cherish the fact I don’t any longer, and that I am surrounded by people who don’t feel that way either. But sharing things (kink) that others would also label as lust, shame, and a host of other negative or “sinful” feelings ends up connecting the two.

Because I do thing you may not approve – fine, judge me on those things.Because I may do things you may not approve of while wearing sneakers – fine, judge me on those things and don’t judge my sneakers.Because I may do things you may not approve of while naked – fine, judge me on those thing and do not judge my nakedness.

Of course, people won’t care about my sneakers as they have no conditioning to connect my sneakers with judgmental, “oh, you are one of those” type thoughts (although I do know some people who are pretty passionate about Nike’s). Also, I don’t value my sneakers enough for to me to care if people think ill of them. But nudism? Many people will care, and I value my families’ embrace of nudism – so I do care if people think ill of it.

THE NUDE NORMAL
The good news — my neighbors! I am grateful my neighbors do not think ill of it. And thus, our nakedness in our backyard begins!

As for me writing about it, well, we will just have to see. I’d love to write about it in a way that shows how beneficial and normal it is, but a “kink” blog is not a good place to normalize anything, except kink!

Speaking of “normal” — Kink is waaaay more normal than people want to admit.
DD, D/s, poly, swinging, or whatever else you want to label as being part of my life — my writing doesn’t normalize it in terms of getting people to think about doing it…it’s been thought of since the dawn of mankind. What I hope it does is hopefully normalize it in terms of people being willing to admit what they already do or admit that they want to do it. In other words, it removes the shame and other negative stigma’s and replaces them with happiness, joy, fulfillment, contentment, and so on.

The fact you found my blog and are reading it tells me you have some level of interest, even if you don’t partake! And you are “normal” either way.

Part of my mid-April slow down in posts was due to me having to deal with some health issues. Lots of doctors appointments! Turned out it wasn’t something too serious – a pinched nerve that responded well to PT and the yoga has also helped. Add to that – I am now officially pre-menopausal, that is, I am in perimenopause. What joy!

The combination of odd neurological issues I was having from the pinched nerve, along with the plethora of perimenopausal symptoms, had me concerned that something serious was going on. So it actually was joyful to find out it wasn’t something chronic.

Don’t cry over spilled milk. . . instead, go naked!We (me, Mike, Kayla, and J) were at the dinner table when J spilled a large glass of milk on his lap. I asked Kayla to help him get his pants off and I would go grab a towel as I didn’t want him dripping milk down the hall as his pants were soaked. When I came back with some towels, he was totally naked. J decided to remove his underwear and Mike figured there was no need to make an issue of it. It was for the best anyway as the milk went down and through his pants.

We got him cleaned up enough and he went to the restroom to wipe down with a washcloth so as not to be sticky and return before his food was cold. I walked into the bathroom to see if he needed help as well as to bring him clean clothes. He said he wanted to just stay naked. His reasoning was he was just going to take a shower after dinner anyway, and he sleeps naked (that’s a recent development), so, why bother putting on clothes he will only have on for about twenty minutes?

Why bother indeed! “Okay, that makes sense. You’ll need to convince your dad though so I’ll hang on to these clothes.” And we walked back to the dinner table. J explained himself, and even added, we’ve eaten naked before (at E’s cousin’s), so why not now? Mike said, “Well, okay, then,” in this tone that implied, “Well, you thoroughly thought that out, I’ve got nothing to counter with, so sure, why not.”

So J sat down and dinner continued. Then a few minutes later J said, “Dad, you said we can be naked at T1’s to show support for E liking to be naked. Well, I like it too. Shouldn’t you all be naked right now to support me?”

SOME BACK STORY
You might read J’s statement using a tones that imply some ulterior motive or desire to just be ornery. That is not that case. I’ve shared that J has a disability. And much of what J says comes from a pure innocence – no ulterior motives – just simply expressing what he is feeling in the moment, unfiltered by social cues and oblivious to the potential innuendo (which at times can make for interesting and uncomfortable moments in public).

And I believe I shared before that J wanted us to “go naked” ever since that first time at T1’s. Mike said no, but did allow him to not get dressed after his bath as he goes right to bed after that anyway. And, as we are going to the nudist resort in a month, Mike thought it would be a good idea for J to stay semi-acclimated to the idea of nudity. So we all adopted a “naked after bath” routine at night, although he is often, but not always, asleep by the time others bathe.

We all sleep nude and I am naked when I go to make sure he is awake – but we all have been getting dressed before coming to breakfast. We also are planning more time with T1 and E, both at our house and theirs, to help normalize it as much as possible for J (and even to some degree, for us).

We want it to be as “normal” for him because we worry a bit about how he may react to things. His pure innocence sometimes is a bit like Tourettes. Not that it is an involuntary tick, but he often has an involuntary impulse to share whatever thought is on his mind. And while he is well intended, sometimes the circumstances aren’t ideal for sharing what’s on his mind. Example – many a times a restaurant he will yell, “Mister, you probably don’t know it but you are talking so loudly that we can’t hear ourselves over here.” Or, “Oh my gosh, lady, I really need you to keep your mouth closed when you are chewing your food.”

Having said all this, Mike doesn’t want us to formally adopt nudism. His initial reason is that he just doesn’t see that as being “us.” But frankly, it has been growing on him. He admits he enjoys it. He also wants to make sure J handles it well. So far, so good, but Mike see’s no reason to rush it. And now, we have this dinner time incident.

So how did Mike respond to J’s request for “support” of him being naked?

THE NUDE NORMAL
We all got naked and finished our dinner! And, while Mike said the naked dinner time was a one-time thing, he provided NEW guidance on nudity in the home. He said going forward, if there was no school or we didn’t have to get dressed to go anywhere, the household could remain naked until 10 a.m. We are to be clothed for dinner, but can be naked after that. It is optional – but J said he would definitely go clothes-free at those times.

MORE ON JI want to share a bit more about my son as there is a distinction to my various “kinks” and nudism. The biggest is that nudism isn’t a kink at all. But it is unfortunately not a mainstream practice and often people attach their own hang ups and bias’ to those who practice it. In that way, and only in that way, does it share something in common with kink.

As part of the various quirks of J’s disability, he has various tactile issues. He always likes to wear shirts that fit tightly and he has never liked pants, whether loose or tight. It has always been normal for him to just have on underwear and a shirt when he is home. He is very picky about things being the right texture for him, whether clothes, food, or whatever. He has a couple of blankets that he carries around to sit on because he doesn’t like the feel of certain chairs.

He also is obsessive when it comes to any threads that may hang from clothes or even the tiniest of holes that appear on clothes. He has to pull every string…he can’t cut them…and rip open every hole, whether in socks, pants, shirt — and whether or not in the comfort of his home or out in public. It is like a compulsion and a reflex. He sees it and “boom” he moves in. Nudity solves all his clothes issues. No weird feeling pants, no shirt being too loose, no threads or holes.

He is happy being naked and thus far has been pretty oblivious to those who are naked around him. While J can be socially inappropriate, it is never been mean-spirited. Many times people will just say, “You’re right, I should be more quiet” and laugh. One of the best stories I can tell you was when he was about five years old. We were at a store and there was a kid with a disfigured face. I saw it. It fact, it was the only thing I saw when I looked at the kid. Then, I hear J, “Mommy, mommy, look,” as he points to this kid. I was mortified. Then J said, “He’s wearing the same shirt I am wearing.” Holy S*@T! J was right. He was. And I could see the other kid smile the biggest smile and say, “you like Spongebob, too?”

So yeah, maybe it is our hang up, not his.

MIKE AND KAYLA
Kayla and I are similar in our thoughts on nudism. I’ve shared that I really enjoy being naked. Kayla does as well but she admits she is still a bit self-conscious. I am tempted to just tell her, “Look at me with my cellulite thighs and butt, varicose vein legs, and saggy boobs, compared to your thin thighs, tight butt, flawless legs, and perky tits.”

But I don’t say such things to her – I display it! I found you can’t convince someone about their self body image. You can only support them and model self affirming behaviors. For some, especially girls and younger women, body image isn’t about you looking better than someone else (especially not about looking better than someone twice your age, cuz that isn’t even a contest. She win’s hands down..or is it boobs up?). Frankly, it isn’t even about your body. I don’t want to go on a body-image rant, but the root of a lot of issues is feelings of shame. And the irony is, being naked increases Kayla’s comfort with being naked, which deminishes her shame, and further increases her comfort with being naked.

So while she is still not 100% comfortable with it, she admits she is getting there and actually is beginning to derive a sense of security from it. It sounds weird as getting naked in front of others is one of the most insecurity-inducing acts you can typically think of. But I get what she is saying. Once you are acclimated to it and around others who are acclimated, you feel empowered, validated, and yes, secure!

Mike enjoys it too, but still not at the “enjoyment” level of Kayla and I. He finds it more “fascinating,” perhaps on a more intellectual level than an emotional level – but he’s getting there. And it helps him to see that J is doing fine with it.

There are a lot of positive studies about nudism. Kids raised in a naturist household have a tremendously positive body image. I read a study that was really quite sad about kids as young as four or five who felt negatively about their private parts — describing them as “bad” or “naughty” and using slang words to describe them. Naturist kids described them no different than you or I would describe our elbows and knees, and use proper terms when describing them.

It is one thing to grow up in a pro-nudist culture. But J is 17 and … well, I almost typed…”and he has a disability.” But frankly, I think we are using that as an excuse. J is J. He isn’t his disability. If he can handle it, and thus far he has indicated he can, then that’s all that should matter.

WHAT’S NEXT
We are a step closer to adding “nudist” to our various “labels.” Not that I am keeping score, but let’s see, any one of these words fit me and/or the relationships Mike and I have – Domestic Discipline, Polyamourous, Swinger, Dominant/Submissive, Cauldism, a touch of BDSM, a tad of M/s, bisexual, cellular family, or perhaps a delta or a triad, ethical slut, metamour, open marriage, and so on.

There are other terms that describe us as well, we are a household with a child with a disability, we are a household of a 26-year marriage, we are “suburban,” we might be aligned with this political ideology or that one, or this religion or that one, or none at all. We are all these things and we are none of these things. Labels help you identify what we do, not who we are. That’s the problem with labels. People often assume if you are “one of those” then they know who you are.

Nudism isn’t about kink, and I almost feel the need to apologize to nudists who read my “kink-infested” blog. No, it isn’t kink, but it is a dramatic and positive change in how we embrace life. Therefore I find it blog worthy. That and, to be honest, I am still enthralled and amazed by it. Like, how did I not discover this sooner? It was literally staring at me in the face every day in the mirror!

I assume the prevalence of kink for nudist is no different than kink for non-nudists. It simply isn’t a “kink” indicator. Oh well, call me what you want. Labels only give you part of my story.

Want the full story? Okay, at least a fuller story? You’ll just have to read 250 posts! Ha.

Last weekend, T1 and E invited us over to meet her cousin’s family. Her cousin was traveling through town on their way to visit other family and decided to stop in for day and overnight with E. Like many of her family, they are practicing nudists, and yes, the gathering would be clothing optional for us.

We looked forward to meeting some of E’s family. We thought it would be a good opportunity to see how J would respond in a more controlled “naked” environment before we think about immersing him in it at the resort. This was also our first opportunity to introduce Kayla as our girlfriend to someone we were meeting for the first time. This would be more than just a reveal of our bodies!

BTW – while E prefers the term naturist, I have been sticking to nudist lately, not out of disrespect to E, but because I keep saying naturalist instead of naturist. It isn’t like E hates the term nudist – and she said some in her family use it freely – she just prefers to say naturist.

A little background on her cousins — They have a small farm. As they put it, it is remote enough they can do all their “livin’ and farmin’ naked”, while still having the amenities offered by being close enough to a decent sized town. They pretty much live 24×7 sans clothing. The kids are a 17-year-old boy, and 15 and 10-year-old girls.

PREPPING J
We talked to J in advance and explained things. He was quite giddy about it and in his egocentric ways said with some excitement, “You mean they can see my penis?” Even though we made it clear everyone would be naked, he showed no interest nor commented about what he might see. We still made it a point to remind him he knows that commenting on people’s appearance isn’t nice, and that this doesn’t change just because someone is naked. His response was a, “No, duh, I already know that.”

He did ask why. We explained it is how some people choose to be, and more specifically, how many people in E’s family choose to be. We are showing our support by being naked as well. He then asked if he needed to get naked now and was a bit disappointed when we said no. Yep, we knew he would be okay with this.

LOGISTICS
I had to call E to discuss the logistics of exactly how do we get naked? Do we first introduce ourselves then excuse ourselves to disrobe? Do we just start shedding our clothes at the door? What’s the protocol?

She assured us the protocol is that there is none. We do what is comfortable. If we see people when we walk in, sure, introduce ourselves first. If we don’t see people, feel free to disrobe at the door – she has a dresser by the door to store clothes.

WE ARRIVE
We get there— meet T2, E, and her cousin and the cousin’s husband in her front living room – they are naked. J’s immediate response is, “can I take my clothes off now, can I, can I?” Oblivious to the fact T2, E, and these strangers are naked – he just wants to get naked. We introduce ourselves and chit-chat a bit as I helped J get undressed. He was so excited and even said, “I can’t believe this. This is like a dream and I like it.” While we knew we would be okay with it, he was a bit over exuberant and we hoped he calmed down about it soon (he did).

E eventually says, “Why don’t you guys get comfortable and come and meet the kids.” That was our cue to get naked. We then walked into the family room and the two teenagers were sitting on the couch, playing a video game. They immediately paused their game and stood up and introduced themselves. Soon the 10-year-old came into the room and introduced herself. Yes, everyone was naked.

I was struck by how engaging they were. Eye contact, conversant… interested in getting to know us and easily talked about themselves when asked questions. I use to work in a middle school and a high school – getting kids to make eye contact or carry on meaningful discussion is not easy. These kids were pros at it — they were comfortable and they made us comfortable.

When we introduced Kayla as our girlfriend, almost no one questioned it. Perhaps it just sounded like “girl who is a friend” versus girlfriend, or perhaps they knew it may not be polite to ask for clarification or maybe T2 and E already told them. But the younger girl asked Kayla “So you’re their…girlfriend?” Kayla simply said, “Yes, I am.” And that was it. The girl was satisfied and moved on, perhaps oblivious to the full implications.

As the visit progressed I was touched by how all three of the kids engaged with J – asking him about himself, what he liked to do, etc. They weren’t fazed by his disability. When J mentioned a game he liked to play, the older boy immediately turned off his game and put in the one J liked. He and J then played it for a while, exchanging tips. While it was clear the boy knew everything J told him, he would still respond with a “Wow, that’s cool” instead of a “yeah, everyone knows that,” which some kids may have said.

The youngest girl was very outgoing and energetic. She showed off her dancing skills as she pirouetted and spun with pride. When J and the other boy were playing their video game, the older girl came and sat with us “adults” for a while, again, easily engaging in conversation.

At one point the younger girl wanted to go exploring in the back yard and quickly bolted out the back door. Her mom calmly said, “Remember what we talked about, you need to come back in and put clothes on.” The girl came back in and got dressed and even asked J if he wanted to join her in looking around.

I thought that was so nice and was one of many examples where she did her best to include J in something she was doing. While he declined that offer, he later played some board games with her. I was so impressed with the kids. And when the topic turned to the nudist lifestyle, I was again impressed by how they responded to our questions. They have absolutely no reservations about their lifestyle.

DISPELLING MY BIASES
It was such a beautiful afternoon and evening. I don’t have any other word for it than beautiful. Watching the family interact and how the kids interacted with each other and with the adults was so amazing. I literally teared up as it was emotional to watch.

It was EXTREMELY helpful to talk with E and her cousin about the lifestyle. We all learned a lot. Even though I consider myself a very open and accepting person, we all make assumptions about certain things. And if something is very foreign to you, those assumptions tend to be very wrong. There is the human nature to think, “Those people… oh, of course we ALL know those people are ALWAYS like…”

Whatever the group, nudist or not, people are, well, people. They come with all sorts of beliefs and preferences. We got some insight into the various approaches different family members take regarding their nudism. Simply put, nudist comes with a range of ideas as to what being naked means to them and how they go about it. Duh! I felt bad for even thinking otherwise. I know this sounds like I am stating the obvious, but again, human nature is what it is and I needed to be reminded of this.

MORE ON E’s COUSINS
In the words of E’s cousin, they are more “free range” regarding their nudity and that of their kids. They don’t do anything to dissuade it other than in the clothing required public. At home they can go days without putting on clothes.

Even if they or their kids have friends over. They said this can sometimes be hard as there are friends whose parents won’t allow them to visit, but surprisingly they said it often isn’t an issue. Sometimes visitors stay clothed, or, their child may choose to be clothed if their friend is, even though others in the family are naked. There have been a few times, with the parents permission, their friend get naked too.

If it is real important to their child to have a friend over and have everyone clothed, they simply can ask and the family is supportive. The kids are very open about their family and while it isn’t the first thing they tell people, they don’t hide it either. The kids all told us that all their friends know they are nudists.

E’s cousins are the same regarding their friends or family that visit. Visitors know to expect the family will be naked. They’ve had some people choose not to visit, and others who not only do so, but partake in being nude. They told us we would be surprised by the number of people they have introduced into the lifestyle over the years. Not necessarily a full 24×7 adoption, but a lot of their friends have gone on trips with them to a nude beach or resort. There is a high curiosity factor and even if they don’t make it a lifestyle, they have fun and enjoy it part-time or at least want to try it once.

IN CONCLUSION
I was so impressed, as was Mike and Kayla. And J had a great time. The kids were the most amazing kids I ever met, although to impress a mom, it helps if you are nice to her child – and they were extremely nice to J. J’s quirks can be annoying or unsettling, but these kids were immune to it. They simply rejoiced in who he was. Truly amazing. “Normal” kids just don’t do that. I’ll take these “abnormal” kids any day!

J wanted to know if he could be naked at home. We anticipated he might ask this but hadn’t fully decided. We all like the idea of it, but aren’t sure we want to make it our lifestyle. I am more for it than Mike, but Mike is the decider on this. Sure Kayla and I are naked whenever J is at school, but that’s different. At this point Mike has left it as a “no,” and explained to J that this was in support of E and her cousin’s preferences and that for now we will keep our clothes on at home.

Okay, enough nude talk. Let’s talk DD and D/s and something kinky. While the nude lifestyle is interesting to me, I don’t consider it kink. Especially after experiencing it “in action” so to speak — it was very non sexual. So much so that even calling it non-sexual is too sexual of term to use. It was just beautiful. It was…just human. I wish I could come up with better words to explain it.

NUDIST VS NATURISTI learned from E, the preferred term is “naturist” not “nudist.” To some, nudity connotes sex, whereas naturist connotes nature. “Naturist” was coined about 125 years ago by those who partook in the nude lifestyle. “Nudist” was a term created about 90 years ago by media. Focusing on nudity gave it a more prurient connotation, at a minimum to sensationalize it, at worst to vilify it. The words are often used interchangeably now, but E is sensitive to the differences in what they mean to her, so, I too will use the word naturist.

Naturism can go deeper than simply rejecting clothes. It can encompass how we embrace nature. E said her parents have a minimalist lifestyle, concerned about keeping a “reasonably small carbon footprint.” They don’t shun electricity or modern advancements – they own a car and have all the modern conveniences. They keep their possessions to a minimum and focus on conservation and recycling.

We haven’t met them yet as they live in another state. It is possible we may meet them at the naturist resort we are looking into. It will be an interesting introduction for us, to say the least.

YOUNG JENNY GOES SKINNY DIPPINGIn my prior post I shared my fondness of being naked. That fondness plays a role in my first orgasmic sexual experience (not counting masturbation). I think I mentioned before, but if not, I had sex with a girl before I had sex with a boy. By the time I had sex with a boy I was a very experienced virgin – but that will have to be another story.

The sex would have happened without the skinny dipping, but I wanted to share the full story to illustrate my penchant for baring it all, even when I was younger.

It was the summer between 8th and 9th grade. I was 13, Amy was 14. She is just two weeks shy of being a full year older than me. With my birthday being just before the cut off to start school, and her age is just after the cut off, we were in the same grade despite an almost one year age difference. I was often the youngest in my class, she the oldest. Not a big deal, but it can be at that age, especially when it comes to physical maturity. Adding to her 11 month head start, she was an early bloomer, I was a late one. Yeah, she had boobies way before me.

Amy’s parents had a really nice house with a large pool in their backyard. The backyard was secluded, at the top of a steep hill with no houses behind it. The two houses on either side were offset such that they didn’t have much of a view of the pool, and any potential view was obscured by many trees. They had a gravel driveway, which, while out of view, was actually close to the pool and made enough noise that you could always hear any car driving up. The perfect storm for clandestine teenage activities.

We had seen each other naked countless times throughout childhood. Amy was well aware of, and subject to, my proclivity to be in the buff. I would often swim naked when her parents and brother weren’t home and even stay naked after the swim. For years she refused to doff her swimsuit. One day she finally relented.

From then on it became routine for us to swim naked if her parents were at work and her older brother wasn’t home. It was comical because each time we heard a noise she would scurry to put her suit on. Well, it wasn’t long until her brother caught us. He was with a friend who parked at the curb and walked up to the house, thus we didn’t hear them.

He was 18 and had just graduated high school. He was a “man” in my mind, plus was Amy’s dorky older brother. No one was interested or thinking anything about sex (at least I wasn’t and I don’t think he was). I wasn’t embarrassed, but Amy surely was and was yelling, “Don’t tell mom and dad, don’t tell mom and dad!” I calmly walked over, naked as can be, and talked to him and his friend. I bargained with him not to tell.

He said no to my offer for him and his friend to simply join us in our “clothing optional” swim (much to the chagrin of his friend). But, it didn’t take any convincing to get him to accept the offer of feeling free to watch me that day or any other day. That, plus, he had to agree to not tell anyone else or invite any other of his friends over.

I was happy because it meant more opportunities to be naked as we didn’t have to worry about her brother being home. By the way, in retrospect the thought of this horrifies me. I put myself in a very vulnerable situation being naked in front of two 18-19 year old guys. Even though I had every reason to trust Amy’s brother, I didn’t even know his friend. In hindsight I was foolish and very fortunate that they both ended up being deserving of that trust.

At first Amy decided swimming naked in front of her brother was too much for her, so she kept her suit on. Once again, eventually she said, “What the hell,” and went naked. At first we got a lot of attention, her brother and/or his friend would hang out by the pool and watch. But eventually they tired of it other than an occasional peek out the window.

MY FIRST “REAL” SEXUAL EXPERIENCE If you’re keeping score, both Amy and I had boyfriends in 8th grade that we allowed to feel us up. She had even let her boyfriend suck on her breasts — I was the prude who hadn’t gone that far. Ha! Beyond that, there was some rubbing of privates over the pants, but neither of us had “touched dick” nor been fingered (other than by our self via masturbation). And we had both experienced orgasms, but again, only through masturbation. Okay, back to the story. . .

After one of our swims, Amy and I were in her bathroom drying our hair. We had bottoms on but no tops. We were talking about things we often talked about – such as boys! The conversation turned to another common topic of ours – our breasts. More precisely, her abundance and my lack of. This was a normal conversation for us to have. It was not sexual. We always openly talked with each other about our bodies, even about masturbation.

At some point I asked her if I could feel her boobs. I was just curious. I had actually done this once before, about a year or two earlier, but they were much bigger now. She said yes, so away I went. Unlike before, this time I really went! She stood in front of me as I played with one, then the other, then both at the same time. Squeezing, poking, prodding, and pressing and pulling her nipples between my fingers.

I don’t know how long I did it for, but it surpassed the length of time to qualify as platonic. While my eyes were focused on her breasts, I became aware of her breathing as her chest would slowly expand and contract, and the sounds of inhaling and exhaling grew louder. I finally looked up at her. Her eyes were closed, lips were pursed. I clearly excited something inside her.

I smiled. Even though it was not my intent, I knew she was feeling something sexual. I kept playing with her breasts until her eyes opened. When she saw me looking into her eyes she quickly got embarrassed and said, “Okay, enough of playing with my boobs, let’s get dressed.” I could tell she was uncomfortable so I didn’t say anything about it. That was that.

The next day we were hanging out in her room and Amy says, “Hey, it’s not fair you got to feel me up. I want to feel you up now.” I took it as her just teasing me and said, “I did NOT feel you up, I was just curious to know what they felt like.” She continued teasing and said “yes you did, yes you did.” I finally said “Fine, then if it will shut you up, then go ahead, feel me too.” She did.

She also felt and felt and felt. Needless to say, she also excited something in me. I started to feel her up too. We played with each other’s breasts for quite a while. I actually don’t remember who went first, but at some point we began sucking on each others breasts. And that was that.

That night I remember masturbating to thoughts of Amy. The first time I ever had such thoughts. I didn’t feel bad for thinking this way. It was the early 80’s, I didn’t know anyone who was gay or bisexual, or even really know much about the terms. I didn’t even connect my feelings with any of those terms. It wasn’t about feeling “that way” about girls. It was simply feeling that way about my friend Amy.

The next day, at Amy’s, we stayed in her room the entire time. We got naked, kissed for the first time, fondled, and fingered until each of us had an orgasm. This was the first time that, other than through masturbation, we had been brought to climax. We went on to frequently have sex, eventually advancing to oral sex as well. And that was that.

PANSEXUAL
Amy and I continued having sex throughout high school and college. All along it was important to me to make the distinction in my mind that I wasn’t attracted to girls, I was just attracted to Amy.

Only recently has it dawned on me that such a distinction is stupid. Why did I feel it was so important to make this distinction? I mean, I didn’t like every guy I saw, but I never felt compelled to make the distinction that any attraction to a guy was about the person versus the gender. That was just too obvious! So why then was it so important for me to make that distinction about Amy?

I think that it is simply due to the negative baggage society puts on us when we are attracted to the same sex. As if you are attracted to one person of the same sex you must be a sexual deviant that wants to have sex with every person of the same sex – thus, my distinction was important to me. This is, of course, just societal bull shit.

As I eventually came to understand, my sexual attractions, men or women, are based on the person, not the gender. And it is fortunate we now have a name for this – pansexual. No negative connotations, no negative societal bull shit baggage. We didn’t have that term back in the early 80’s. Pansexual! That’s me!

More in my series of posts regarding our ongoing Contract renegotiation. This covers the review Mike and I had of our Maintenance Sessions.

I want to revisit why these sessions are important to me before I get into sharing the changes Mike wants. I cover it way back on Post 10, but simply put, they are an important part of “maintaining” my submissive mindset and serve to “calibrate” Mike’s dominance with my submissiveness.

I think that second point is a bit unique in this dynamic as it provides me an opportunity to get clarification from Mike or respectfully share changes I want. Note that any critique I give of Mike is never framed about “I wish you would have…” or “I wish you would not have…” It is always framed as, “Next time I would like…” Open, honest feedback, free from coming across as disrespectful makes sure that Mike and I remain calibrated regarding our needs, desires, and various aspects of our dynamic. Knowing I still have a strong voice helps me accept a situation I may not particularly like as I know I will have an opportunity to discuss it with Mike at our next session.

FREQUENCY
We have Maintenance Sessions on Sunday evenings. Mike added a mini-session on Thursday (Post 137) that was originally planned as temporary or as-needed. Mike now wants them to be permanent.

THURSDAY MAINTENANCEThese were added about six months ago as shared in Post 137, and revised a bit as shared in Post 148. They were intended as temporary measures but Mike wants them to be permanent. They came about to provide me “added focus and additional release” and Mike said the recent “tea incident” solidified his belief these should be permanent.

These are brief sessions where I share any non-submissive thoughts I had (which I write in my journal). Even if not necessarily a violation of a rule, it gives me an opportunity to share with him the time and event surrounding these thoughts. This can help him further help me in ways to maintain a submissive mindset. These sessions start and end with a 5 hard with a cane and 5 hard with the prison strap. While only 5 strikes each, they are whoppers! I then get 30 minutes in the corner for reflection and he comes in, we embrace, and the session ends.

SUNDAY MAINTENANCEThe Sunday sessions won’t change much. We mostly have these in the evenings but will try to sneak them in earlier when possible. Depends on football and what J is doing – if he is spending the afternoon at a cousins then we of course try and do it then.

Mike increased the number of maintenance spankings, which are done by hand, from 15 to 30, and changed the “ceremony” a little bit Basically it goes like this:

I get ready first and am naked in a submissive pose as he enters the bedroom. He will remain silent and sit down in a chair. Once seated, without any direction from him I rise, walk over, and lay over him so he can spank me. He gives me 30 by hand.

We both then get up and typically he takes me over to the edge of the bed where we sit, holding hands and facing each other. We have our dialogue where I share any concerns I have or desires for the coming week. Mike also discusses whatever is on his mind or specific requests for the coming week.

I present my journal for his review. He may take a lot of time reading it or give it a casual perusal. I have a section where I self-report any transgressions I had during the week that he may be unaware of. We decided it is best to handle self reporting this way instead of requiring me to always immediately self-report. There are times I still do immediately tell him, but it is not expected. The reason for this is he doesn’t want me to feel compelled to greet him with one or more things I did wrong. He feels that is a buzz kill of a greeting and would rather I just journal it and save it for Maintenance.

He then will spank me for any self reported transgressions or for any shortcomings of my journal (stuff like missing a day, messy writing, incomplete entries). Amount and intensity of spankings will vary depending on what he feels is warranted.

I then get “Reflection time. I must masturbate to climax and he may or may not stay and watch – up to him. If he stays, he leaves once I have had an orgasm. After orgasm I am to stay on the bed and relax in thought. I may even doze off. He returns in about 30 minutes.

I kneel in front of him and we exchange some contemporaneous words of commitment (akin to a mantra but what we say is whatever words come to mind). He then sits, and without instruction I again lay across him without saying a word and get the final 30 by hand. We then embrace until Mike calls the session over.

I believe on my next post I can wrap up recapping the remaining changes we are making, which include Hard Limits, condensing the prescribed disciplining measures, and some other various miscellaneous changes. We should have a new agreement ready to go by the 17th!